| Margherita of Savoy | |
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| Tenure | 9 January 1878 – 29 July 1900 |
| Spouse | Umberto I of Italy |
| Issue | |
| Victor Emmanuel III | |
| Full name | |
| Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna di Savoia | |
| Father | Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa |
| Mother | Princess Elisabeth of Saxony |
| Born | 20 November 1851 Palazzo Chiablese, Turin |
| Died | 4 January 1926 (aged 74) Bordighera |
| Burial | Pantheon, Rome |
Margherita of Savoy (Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926), was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy during the reign (1878–1900) of her husband, Umberto I.
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She was a daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. Her paternal grandparents were Charles Albert, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were John, King of Saxony and Amalie Auguste, Princess of Bavaria.
She married her first cousin Umberto, Prince of Piedmont on 21 April 1868. On 11 November 1869, Margherita gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, afterwards Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was their only child.
On 9 January 1878, Umberto succeeded as the new King of Italy. She became his Queen consort and remained by his side for the rest of his reign. Umberto was assassinated by anarchist Gaetano Bresci on 29 July 1900.
Margherita encouraged artists and writers and founded cultural institutions, notably the Società del Quartetto, and the Casa di Dante. She was a benefactor of many charities, especially the Red Cross.
In 1889, the Margherita pizza, whose red tomatoes, green basil, and white cheese represent the Italian flag, was named after her. Her name means "daisy" in Italian. In 1906, the Queen mother’s nephew Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi made the first ascent of the highest summit of Mount Stanley (the third highest mountain in Africa) and named it Margherita Peak in her honour.[1]
On 18 August 1893, in the company of various guides, porters, Alpini, politicians and aristocrats, she climbed the Punta Gnifetti (or Signalkuppe), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif on the Swiss-Italian border, for the inauguration of the mountain hut named after her.[2] At 4,554 metres the Capanna Regina Margherita, remains the highest hut in Europe.
Politically she leant towards Fascism—in October 1922 the quadrumvirs (Emilio De Bono, Italo Balbo, Michele Bianchi and Cesare Maria de Vecchi) visited her at Bordighera to pay their respects prior to the March on Rome.
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Margherita of Savoy
Born: 20 November 1851 Died: 4 January 1926 |
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| Italian royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Marie Louise of Austria |
Queen consort of Italy 9 January 1878–29 July 1900 |
Succeeded by Elena of Montenegro |
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